Unit 10 American Literature

1. Unit 10 American Literature

2. Period 1 Warming up

3. Do you know what kind of text is the one you read? Good, better, best! Never have it rest! Till good is better! And better, best! It is a rhyme

4. A limerick People laugh and people cry. Some give up, some always try. Some say hi while some say bye. Others may forget you but never I.

5. O my Luve’s like a red red rose That’s newly sprung in June O my Luve’s like the melodie That’s sweetly play’d in tune As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I ; And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a’the sees gang dry Till a’the sees gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun; I will luve thee thill, my dear While the sands o’ life shall run And fare thee weel, my only luve! And fare thee weel a while! And I will come again, my luve Tho’ it were then thousand mile! A poem by Robert Burns A Red, Red Rose.

6. Step2 Warming upRead the text and answer the following questions. A poem 1. What kind of text is the one you have just read? 2. What is it about and what does it mean? 3. Can you tell something about the writer? 4. Why is this probably American literature? It is about the way African Americans talk about their ancestors. What the author wants to say is that black people always say that their ancestors were kings, but that cannot be true. Instead, he says black people should be honest and proud of their ancestors, no matter whether they were rich or poor. Yes. The writer is probably African American. Because the experience of slavery has not existed in any other English-speaking country in the same way as in America.

7. Dudley Randall (b orn in. 1914). Washington, D.C., • Randall worked and then as a carrier and clerk for the U.S. Post Office in Detroit. • (1942-1946), and graduated from Wayne State University (B.A., 1949) and the University of Michigan (M.A.L.S., 1951). • He was a librarian at several universities, and founded the Broadside Press in 1965 "so black people could speak to and for their people." . • His works include On Getting a Natural (1969) and A Litany of Friends: New and Selected Poems (1981). He edited The Black Poets (1971), an extensive anthology of poetry, from slave songs to the present.

8. Listening They are organising a Reading Club. Listen to the tape and answer the following questions. • What activity are Ben, Ann and Lily organising? • Why is this activity successful, while the English Corner is not? Give two reasons. 1_____________ 2______________ 3. What are the advantages of their club activities according to Ann, Ben and Lily? No foreigners are needed It has more variation in topics interesting useful can learn about life and literature in foreign countries no foreigners are needed can talk about many topics can read things which are not read in school

9. Period 2 ReadingA Sacrifice For Love 1

10. O. Henry (1862-1910) William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) was born in Greenboro, North Carolina. his well-known stories "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Furnished Room". The Trimmed Lamp (1907) included "The Last Leaf".

11. Step 1: Pre-reading Make a list of all the special dates that you celebrate Then talk about your list with your deskmate. 1. 1.Include the names of the people who join in the celebration and places you visit. 2.Write about the things you do on those days that are connected to the real meaning of the celebration and why you do them. 3.Which is the most important day of the year for you? 4.Think of a gift you think that you would like to receive

12. Step 2 ReadingSkimming: now skim the text and answer the questions. 1.What is the setting of the story? 2. How many characters are in the story?

13. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Make an outline of this part of the story: ( Para 1-3 ) Della was sad a day before Christmas, because she didn’t have enough money to buy her husband, Jim, a Christmas gift. ( para4-8 ) Della bought a gold watch chair for Jim, at the cost of her hair. (Para 9 ) Della went home and did her hair. (Para 10--11 ) After cooking the dinner, Della was anxious to wait Jim (Para 12--18 ) Della and Jim exchanged Christmas gifts.

14. Careful reading 1.How much did Della save for months? One dollar and eighty-seven cents 2.Why did Della cry after counting the money she had been saving? Because with one dollar and eighty-seven cents, she couldn’t buy a fine and rare gift for Jim.

15. 3.Why did tear fall form her eyes while Della was standing in front of the mirror? She decided to cut off her hair and sold it to get money. 4.How much did Della get from the Madame in the barbershop? Twenty dollars 5.What did Della look like after cutting off and doing her hair? Her head was covered with tiny curls that made her look like a little school girl. .

16. Decide whether the following sentences are true or false. 1.James Dillingham Young was Della’s husband. 2.Della lived in a neighborhood with many trees and flowers. 3.Della had a large sum of money to buy Jim a Christmas gift. 4.There were two possessions of this family—Jim’s gold watch and Della’s hair. 5.Della thought having a haircut will make Jim happy. T F T T F

17. Step 4 Discussion 1.Were Della and Jim both foolish to sell their favorite possessions? O.Henry want to tell us that they were not foolish. They were wise because they had each sacrificed their most valuable possessions for the person they loved. They were like the three wise men—the Magi—who brought presents for Jesus Christ after he was born. Keep in mind, that this is why Christians still give presents on Christmas Day: to remember the gifts the Magi brought Christ on that very first Christmas.

18. Graphic representation of the text A Sacrifice For Love Della Jim love sell sell gold watch chain watch hair a set of comb

19. A Sacrifice For Love 2 Period 3 Integrating skills

20. Post-reading Della thinks he will either be very angry or disappointed (or both) and not love her any more. • How did Della expect Jim react when he saw her? • What was Jim’s reaction? Describe his feelings? • Why did Della burst into tears when she opened the package? Jim is shocked when he sees Della, and he doesn’t know what to say. She cries because she is reminded of her beautiful hair, and the combs which she so much wanted are now of no use to her.

21. The story takes place in a city in America. 4. Where did the story take place? 5. Explain the title of this short story. What does it mean? 6. Is the story humorous or not? How would you describe the story? The title means that both Della and Jim give up their most precious possession for the love of each other. I think the story is humorous in a way, but also with some irony. It is hard to say the story is funny, but the story is surprising.

22. Proverbs Look at these English sayings. Can you translate them easily into Chinese? 1.Love is the greatest gift of all. 2. Money can't buy you love. 3. A gift must come from the heart. 4. Beauty comes from within.

23. Step 4 Discussion 1.Were Della and Jim both foolish to sell their favorite possessions? O.Henry want to tell us that they were not foolish. They were wise because they had each sacrificed their most valuable possessions for the person they loved. They were like the three wise men—the Magi—who brought presents for Jesus Christ after he was born. Keep in mind, that this is why Christians still give presents on Christmas Day: to remember the gifts the Magi brought Christ on that very first Christmas.

24. Graphic representation of the text A Sacrifice For Love Della Jim love sell sell gold watch chain watch hair a set of comb

25. Key Words and Expressions

26. 1. furnish [fE:niF] vt. 1. 1) to equip with what is needed, especially to provide furniture for 布置家具;配备家具 The room was completely furnished. The room was furnished with the simplest necessities, a bed, a chair, and a table. The new guest hotel’s finished， but it’s not yet furnished. 2. 2) to supply; give供给；提供 I will furnished all you need I will furnished all you need。

27. 词组: furnish sth. to/for sb.； furnish sb./sth. with sth. 为……提供某事;供应 The company offered to furnish all the equipments for the major expedition. The government furnished some poor villages with supplies food. 拓展：furnish 的名词为furniture， 意为“家具”,是不可数名词。 a piece of furniture / an article of furniture 一件家具 This old French table is a very valuable piece of furniture. There is no need to buy so much furniture.

28. 2. simplify [simplifai] vt. 1) to make simple or simpler使简易；使易做；简化 The English in this story has been simplified to make it easier to understand. Can you simplify the language a little? The working process should be simplified. The teacher simplified his explanation for the children. 链接: simple /adj./ easy 简单的,不复杂的 The little boy can already do simple problems in arithmetic. Writing a cheque is quite a simple procedure to him.

29. shabby [FAbi] adj. 1. showing signs of wear and tear; threadbare or worn-out 肮脏破旧的, 破烂不堪的 a shabby old hat 破旧的帽子 2. wearing threadbare clothing衣衫褴褛的,寒酸的 a shabby old man 一位衣衫褴褛的 3. 3. despicable; mean低劣的, 卑鄙的, 不公平的 What a shabby trick, driving off and leaving me to walk home!

30. 3. possession [pE5zeFEn] n. 1) [C] something possessed or property拥有物，财产 He lost all his possessions in the fire. A toy bear is the only possession of the boy. 2)[U] the act or fact of possessing拥有;持有 The two children are fighting for possession of the book. At last, Tom got possession of the ball.

31. 拓展: possession可和介词或动词构成短语,在句子中充当各种成分, ⑴in possession of sth. 拥有,占有,控制 The window is in possession of a large fortune. After the old man died, his son was in possession of the house. ⑵in the possession of sb. 或 in sb’s possession 归……所有 The land is in the possession of the merchant. ⑶take possession of 或 have possession of 拥有…… He has had possession of the car for 10 years. ⑷put sb. in possession of sth. 让某人知道某事 The letter put me in possession of some important information.

32. let down 1)to disappoint使失望：使沮丧 Tom will never let you down, you can always depend on him. 2)lower放下,(衣服)放长 She let down the bucket into the well. The shirt needs letting down.

33. at length 1)after some time; eventually终于,最后 At length, the bus arrived, forty minutes late. 2)for a considerable time; fully长时间地；彻底地 The judge spoke at length about the court ruling. The professor asked his students to treat this subject at length.

34. weep [wi:p] 1) Vito express emotion, such as grief or sadness, by shedding tears流泪; 落泪 He lost control of his feelings and began to weep. They wept for their failure. 2) vt. to bring to a specified condition by weeping哭泣 She wept herself into a state of exhaustion. The young wan wept his fate.

35. 比较cry， weep cry 和weep都指发出表示悲伤、不高兴或痛苦的口齿不清的声音，并且cry 和weep 都与流眼泪有关。 cry 则更强烈地表示伴随的声音。 When he died the little children cried in the streets. 当他死时，小孩子们在街上大声哭喊起来。 I weep for what I'm like when I'm alone. 我为我孤独时的样子而哭泣。

36. attend [E5tend] vt. 1)to be present at出席，参加 Although he was still not well, the boy insisted on attending class. I need to dress up a little to attend my friend’s wedding. 2) to take charge of管理，照管 They attended our affairs during our absence.

37. attend to 1) to take care; give attention关注；注意 We‘ll attend to that problem later. I have an urgent matter to attend to. 2) to take care of照顾；帮助 You’d better attend to that thin dark girl； I think she is going to faint. Are you being attended to, sir?

38. rare [rεэ] adj. 1)infrequently occurring; uncommon罕见的；很少发生的；特殊的： This plant is rare in this region. That bird is very rare in this country. 2) cooked a short time to retain juice and redness煮得很嫩的 We had three courses： soup, a rare steak and vegetables, and fruit.

39. do up 1) to fasten 扣（纽扣） Do up your coat and hurry. This dress does up at the back. 2) to repair, improve整理（房间） Let’s do up the room first. 3) to adorn or dress lavishly The children were all done up in matching outfits. 4)to wrap and tie (a package)包，扎（包裹）,捆 （东西） He was doing up a parcel.

40. worn [wC:n] adj. 1) affected or damaged by wear or use穿旧的；用旧的；穿破的 He decided to throw the worn shoes away and buy a new pair. These shoes are looking rather worn. 2)showing the wearing effects of overwork, care, worry, or suffering疲倦的；筋疲力尽的 She came back worn and worried. I was shocked to see the worn look of his handsome young face.

41. burden [b:dn] n. 1) a source of great worry or stress; weight负荷；负担；重载 He could not carry the burden alone. The burden of economic sacrifice rests on the workers of the plant. 2. a responsibility or duty责任，义务 The burden of organizing the campaign fell to me. vt. to load or trouble使负重担；使麻烦 I will not burden you with a lengthy account. He is burdened with heavy taxation.

42. fix [fiks] vt. 1)to direct steadily使集中，使固定 She fixed her eyes on the road ahead. 2) to make stable or firm Campers fixed the tent poles in the ground. 3)to capture or hold 吸引，抓住 The man with the long beard fixed our attention. 4) to agree on; arrange同意；安排 Later, we fixed a time to meet next time. fix on 决定 We‘ve fixed on the 14th of April for the wedding. fix sth on / upon 专注；凝视 Thousands of eyes are fixed on the Tian An Men rostrum. She fixed her eyes on the road ahead.

43. approve [v] vt. 1) to consider right or good; think or speak favorably of赞成, 满意, 批准 My parents don't approve of me smoking cigarettes. 2) to consent to officially or formally; 认可；通过 The resolution was approved 82 to 16 with 18 abstentions. vi. 3) to show, feel, or express approval同意赞成，赞同（常与of连用） I don't approve of wasting time. I don't approve of smoking.

44. tear at 1. to pull at or attack violently 撕扯 猛裂地撕扯或进攻： The dog tore at the meat. 2. to distress greatly严重伤害： Their plighttore at his heart.